The documented history of Iran begins with the Achaemenian dynasty
dating back about 2500 years ago. A significant era marked by decisive
unification of the pars tribes during the reign of Astyages and his
grandson, Cyrus, who initially formed an extensive, centralized and
mighty empire. Although according to will the "Aryans", inhabitants of
the vast Iranian plateau, were not the founders of civilization and
followed the Babylonian as well as Egyption examples yet their ingenious
Souls enabled them to transform those models, institute the first
autonomous nation and establish a well-organized financial system.
Ironically, Achaemenian's most remarkable military expedition against
the Greeks took place in 480 B.C. resulting in both the Iranian's defeat
and Seizure of undisputed power by Alexander.

Darius, another prominent king of the mentioned dynasty, divided his
empire into tewenty states or "satrapi" and accordingly appointed
powerful rulers for all. He also began building roads to facilitate
trade, enhance relations among the states and attain his military goals.
"Shahi" or king's Road, extending 2400 kilometers, linked Susa to
Mesopotamia (located in present day Iraq) while another major road
connected Babylonia to India. Establishment of a tax and wage system for
the labour, introduction of a unified measuring system, emergence of
private banks, granting of loans for agricultural purposes and coin
minting highlight the worthy accomplishments of this particular era.

Appropriately, Roman Ghirshman also has noted that once the use of coins
became common overland and over seas trade rapidly extended to distant
lands.

The Royal messengers, chapars, would travel the long and vast roads of
Achaemenian empire to deliver the Royal decrees or commands to the state
rulers as well as military commanders and return with reports on the
state of affairs. The messengers would then deliver the communications
to the "Chapar House", present day post office, situated along the route
and the process would continue until reaching the final destination. The
"Silk Road" too was one of the ancient trade routes which led to Kashgar
from two opposite directions of north and south. Extending westward to
Samarkand, Marv and Balkh in northen region of Iran, passing through
Central Asia leading to ancient Greece. This major historical route
connecting the west to the east was known as the Great Road of Khorasan
or "the Silk Road", as previously mentioned. The pre-Islam civilization
of Iran takes pride in such innovations, particularly because the
management and maintenance of the "King's Great Road" 25 Centuries ago
constituted great honor for Iranians among all nations.

In addition to land routes, various sea routes were also frequented and
ships with capacities up to 300 tons treaded those waters. The ship's
sailors were mainly Phoenicians or Greeks, the officers were Iranians
whereas a 10,000-strong military formed Darius's renowned "Immortal
Army". More over, excavation of the Suez Chanal (the chanal dug on the
order of Darius and slightly different from the present chanal)
exhibited the economic and military merits of yet another chapter of
Iranian history.

The "Throne of Jamshid" or Persepolis was chosen as Iran's capital
during the rule of Achaemenians. However, the corner-stone of Persepolis
was laid during the reign of Darius I - ofter whom each king added more
sections to the site. Also the cities of Susa, Babylonia and Ekbatan
(today's Hamadan) each inturn served as the nation's capital.

During the rule of Ardeshir, the founder of the Sassanide dynasty, a
very powerful centralized government developed and for the first time in
Iran the religion of Zoroaster (the Iranian prophet) was declared as the
official religion. A faith whose essential pillars are laid upon
virtuous thoughts, virtuous words, and virtuous deeds.

The Prophet of Islam, Mohammad (BABUHHP) was born in the city of Mecca
during the rule of Anushirvan Sassani, and was chosen as the completion
of all prophecy and the last prophet during the reign of Khosrow Parviz
(610 A.D.). Weakness of the Sassanide government, oppressions of the
Kings, and at the same time Islam's human-rights oriented ideology and
it's message of equality and brotherhood of mankind were the imperative
factors which led to the victory of Islam's army over the Iranian
military might in the course of numerous battles. The Prophet Mohammad
migrated to Medina from Mecca (622 A.D). Thus, this particular year was
chosen as the base of the Muslims' calendar owing to the indisputable
effect of this migration. At that time, Islam spread mainly in the
Arabian peninsula, and after the prophet in the Southern parts of Iran,
Syria, Iraq, Turkey and all of Egypt as well as northern part of Syria
embaraced Islam. In the course of all these victories, call to God's
religion with the slogan "the unique Allah is Great" became the
infrastructure of the Muslims' new, powerful and popular ideology.

Iran's mighty army was defeated in the "Ghadessieh" (15 A.H.) and "Nahavand"
(21 A.H.) battles, and the country gradually came under the influence of
Islam.

The expedition of the devastating mogul tribe to Iran began (616 A.H)
and the last Persian King of the dynasty, Sultan Jalal-e-din Kharazmshah
was overthrown by Gengiz's army and later put to death (628 A.H.). The
period of Mogul chieftain's rule in Iran was the most oppressed era the
nation had ever seen and the conditions did not change until the
founding of the Iranian dynasty, the Safavides, and the rule of Shah
Ismeal.

The Mogul were removed from Iran's political scene after about 300 years
by the Safavides, and Shah Ismeal was crowned in Tabriz (907 A.H).
During the reign of Safavie Dynasty relations between Iran and European
and other countries expanded and Iran's powerful centralized government,
during Shah Abbas's rule, established political and economic ties with
great leaders such as Queen Elizabeth, Philip II the king of Spain,
India's Akbar shah and also put an end to the domination of Portuguese
in the Persian Gulf. The Iranian culture and art once again flourished
during the Safavie rule and architechture, carpet-weaving, miniature
painting, gilding and handicraft(s) underwent special development.

After the Safavide, alternately weak and strong governments came to
power among which the government of Nader Shah Afshar, Karim Khan Zand,
Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar, Naser-e-din Shah and Mozafar-e-din Shah are
noteworthy. During the rule of Nader Shah, The Russians were expelled
from Iran, the booties which the Ottomans had taken from the country
were recovered, Kandhar and Delhi became parts of Iran and once again
the Iranian territory was expanded and included a vast area of southeast
Asia. Oppression and tyranny became prevelant in the course of the Qajar
dynasty's rule due to treason of courtiers and the Kings'
powerlessness and inattention to the state of affairs. The unprecedented
and historical measures of Mirza Taghi Khan Amir Kabir, Naser-e-din
Shah's prime minister, such as dispatching students abroad for higher
education, printing of newspaper, compilation of laws, etc. made him an
immortal historical personage.

The new era began with the reign of the Pahlavi dynasty. Reza Khan Mir-Panj,
commander of a Kazak battalion, occupied Tehran on 22 Feb. 1920, and
five years later crowned himself the King with the support of England.
Gradually, he began opposing the Islamic culture and tranditions and his
despotic rule lasted for 16 years. In 1941 under pressure by England, he
abdicated the throne in favor of his son Mohammad-Reza and was exiled
into St.Moritz island and then to Johannesburg in South Africa where he
later died.

Mohammad Reza too, fairly followed in the footsteps of his father for 37
years of his reign. Following the events leading to nationalization of
oil, he was reinstated subsequent to a coup and while England's position
with this rule began to deteriorate, the United States gained more
influence and power in the country's political, economic and culture
affairs.

As his father, Mohammad-Reza too was strongly against the presence and
involvement of clergymen in the socio-political scene. After his forced
summary referendum concerning the so-called "Agriculture and land
reforms" or the allocation of farmland to farmers, Iran's dependence on
imported goods, false employment due to relocation of farmers in cities,
and "Consumerism", as opposed to "Production", increased sharply which
were strongly opposed by the time's scholors and theologians,
particulary the late Imam Khomeini. The opposition of both religious
scholars and the people to the government in 1963 as well as army's
assault on Qom's theological school (Iran's main center for training
theologians) coupled with martydom of a large number of those students
and the people, paved the grounds for escalation of religious movement
within the country and their determination to take over the political
arena, materialization of the idea of "unity of politics and religion"
in the form of the Islamic Republic of Iran and uprooting of 2500 years
of the Kings' despotic rule in this country.

With the victory of the Islamic revolution, for the first time ever the
people of Iran went to the polls in April 1979 and voted in favour of
the establishment of the Islamic republican system with an overwhelming
majority of over 98.8 percent. The assembly of experts then embarked
upon formulating the Constitutional law of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
This Constitutional law was ofcourse approved by the vote of the Iranian
nation. The significant point, however, was the united presence of the
people in the presidential election, elections for the Islamic
consultative assembly as well as other relevant elections which took
place one after the other in order to determine the major and
fundamental organs and institutions of the Islamic system. With the
establishment of the Islamic government many conspiracies were hatched
by the world imperialism. Fortunately, all of them failed due to the
presence of the Iranian people on the scenes. The gravest of such
conspiracy, hatched with the main objectives of weakening and paralyzing
Iran's economic and political system and the occupation of the fertile
land of Khuzistan, was Iraqi regime's invasion of Iran directly provoked
by the United States in 1980 -- that was only two years following the
victory of the Islamic revolution. The war continued for 8 years and
included the most savage bombings and chemical attacks leaving much
destruction and damages in 4 border provinces of the country in the
South and the West. Hundreds of thousands of the best and most faithful
forces were martyred or disabled in the war and millions of people
became homeless as a result of the war.

This destructive war came to an end in 1989 due to brave resistance of
Iranian people and acceptance of the UN security council resolution 598.
Moreover, events such as assassination of the political leaders or state
officials, economic sanctions and various plans for isolation of Islamic
Republic of Iran were all the cost a nation paid in order to establish
its first favorite republic.

On fourth of June 1989 the grand leader and architect of the Islamic
revolution, The late Imam Khomeini, passed away and the world lost one
of its most revered and distinguished religious and political leaders.
Besides his role as a political leader, Imam Khomeini was a prominent
instructor of ethics who lived in ultimate continence and chastity.

Following the demise of Imam Khomeini, the assembly of experts chose one
of the prominent students of Imam Khomeini, a great combatant who had
been imprisoned and send into exile by the regim of the Shah many times,
as the leader of the Islamic revolution. This noble personage was none
but grand Ayatollah Khamenei who had been elected as president of the
Islamic Republic of Iran twice following the victory of the Islamic
revolution in Iran.

With his election as the leader of the Islamic revolution, the
reconstruction programs began in full might and despite all the
bottlenecks that the war had created the construction works maintained
their pace in the course of first-five year plan designed by the
government of president Hashemi Rafsanjani

The government managed to reconstruct the major portion of the ruins,
many factories resumed operations, agriculture flourished, the water
supply and sewage networks plus great dams were designed and constructed
and finally the rate of illiteracy which acted as a barrier in the way
of the country's development, reached its lowest. Despite some economic
problems, the Islamic Republic of Iran has managed to adopt an
independent political and economic policy and relying on local
specialized forces extends international cooperation and enjoys a high
level of acceptability worldwide.

Renovation of the Silk Road has been transformed into a regional and
global demand during the recent years and now a national will strongly
supports this constructive desire in the Islamic Republic as well. Since
1988 UNESCO has also reinforced all the relevant international decisions
for restoration of this immense ancient road through holding various
conferences in the world's famous cities such as New Delhi, Paris,
Tashkent and the last of which was held in the picturesque city of
Isfahan in 1995.

On completion, once again, this enormous project would revive the
historic role of Iran as the bastion of multinational communication,
indispensable for the development of regional commerce and cultural
relations. Upon disintegration of the former "Soviet Union" in 1985, the
policy of friendship and cooperation with the newly independent and
autonomous states (situated in the north of Iran) received immediate
attention as one of the utmost and perpetual foreign policies of the
Islamic Republic of Iran.

In compliance with the stated policy, therefore numerous multilateral
contracts regarding road transportation, economic cooperation and
establishment of the sales agencies for Iranian goods were thus signed.
Further formation of regional economic organization (ECO) consisting of
twelve countries also expedited the implementation of the most strategic
railway project in the region, stretching from Eastern China to Europe
via Iran's national railway system.

The unique position of this giant commercial highway currently leaves
other countries of the world, willing to develop commercial and economic
ties with the Central Asian republics, no alternatives but to take full
advantages of this vital connective passage -- geographically situated
in Iran, China, Russia, Turkey and Afghanistan. Apart from Georgia most
of the newly independent states are landlocked countries whose
connecting routes with rest of the world, directly or indirectly, could
pass through Iran and thus enhancing the Islamic Republic's unique
geo-political status world-wide.

Iran's strategic significance, both in the region and in international
arena, generally revolves around material and spiritual aspects.
Moreover, its material dimension is mainly composed of economic,
technical, military and geo-political components while the spiritual
aspect derives from the great Islamic ideology, a rich common history as
well as the existing racial and cultural interconnections with other
nations in the region. Since disintegration of the former Soviet Union
this emphasis has undoubtedly increased and the political focal point of
the relevant policies of the " The Arab Middle East" has also been
redirected towards the east and the north, namely the Islamic Republic
of Iran and the Central Asia.

As a linking bridge connecting two of the world's most vital energy
reservoirs, the Persian Gulf and the Caspian Sea, the east and westwards
proximity of Iran to eleven countries including the oil-rich countries
of the Persian Gulf has certainly reassured the regional prestige of the
Islamic Republic of Iran.

Accordingly, restoration of the Silk Road is currently regarded as one
of the essential precursors of more fruitful regional and
intercontinental cooperations amongst the "ECO" member countries. Also
due to inauguration of Mashhad-Tajan railway and the impending
completion of Bafagh-Mashhad railway the above mentioned states would
both gain easier access to open sea and have an ever increasing chance
of an active incorporation in the global economy.

The Central Asian countries, with an old and excessive dependence on the
former Soviet Union, still primarily rely upon imports. Yet the
necessary efforts are being made to overcome this economic barrier by
exploring various new markets. Despite availability of several
socio-economic advantages such as abundant manpower and cheap labour,
rich natural energy resources as well as the exportation of raw
materials, oil, gas and agricultural products, vast majority of these
countries crucially lack the existence of modern and well-organized
banking, insurance, transportation as well as other essential commercial
services. Fortunately, productive technical assistance and multilateral
economic cooperations with the republics not only would ensure the
important role of Iran as a catalyst of commercial development in the
region, but would also lead all the concerned parties to more
constructive participation in the world economy.

As the
world's greatest Islamic economic organization possessing distinct
religious, strategic, historical and socio-economic particularities,
undoubtedly, "ECO" presents Iran with an immense security and economic
significance and now tehran proudly hosts the headquarter of this
organisation. Furthermore, the linkage of Mashhad-Tajan railways would
definitely provide "ECO" and the like with an ideal possibility of
attaining their long-term comprehensive goals.

Numerous sources have mentioned various routes for the "Silk Road."Some
sources consider the city of "Tun Huang" as the origins of the "Silk
Road, located in the western most tip of the Wall of China, while others
strongly suggest that the starting point of the said road was in the
city of "Loyang" on the south-bank of Huang Ho River. Once reaching the
vast "Pamir-Plateau" in Afghanistan, a branch of this ancient road
passed through Marv, Samarghand and then led towards iran via Neyshabur.

Marv, Samarghand and then led towards Iran via Neyshbur. In its path the
"Silk Road" also connected main cities such as Gorgan, Ray, Hamadan and
further joined Iraq through Ghasr-e-Shirin and later arrived at its
final land destination adjacent to the Mediterranean coast. As its name
clearly suggests, the main role of this ancient road was expediting the
safe and easy transport of many important goods from China to Venice
among which silk was the incomparable merchandise of the time. For
eighteen centuries (BC 200-AD 1600) the ancient world's most principal
commercial highway, the "Silk Road" 8000 km in lenght, enomously
contributed to meaningful intercontinental, traditional, and cultural
exchanges which also give a fresh impetus to commercial development in
the region

According to Christiansen: "because the ancient Persians exclusively
imported huge quantities of silk from China they were thus able to sell
their silk-orientated products in various European markets, at their own
desired prices. The Turks' efforts to gain permission for the passage of
silk across the Iranian territory were all to no avail and a long and
persistent conflict between the Byzantine Empire (395-1453 AD) and the
Persians, over the transit of Chinese silk, continued throughout the
early centuries of the Middle Ages." Later the Roman and the Chinses
attempts at establishing a new silk transit route, without involvement
of the Persians, also proved fruitless and even enabled the Persian
merchants to control the silk trade particularly throughout Indo-China

Once the Europeans gained complete dominance over East India and the
Mediterranean sea routes, at the turn of the 15th Century, their
respective companies in the orient also turned their immediate attention
to these new routes. In addition, a number of crucial events such as
rapid decline in silk production within Persian territories, the
oscillation of diplomatic ties between the Ottoman Empire (C1300-1918)
and the Persians, and the emergence of new rival silk exporters
eventually paved the way for the ironic demise of the ancient "Silk
Road."

Fortunately, from now on, all the countries in the region will not only
celebrate the 24th of Ordibehesht as the inauguration day of
Mashad-Tajan rail ways, but also would acclaim this historic occasion as
the anniversary of the revival of the " Ancient Silk Road." The
following is an excerpt from the opening speech by the former Iranian
president Mr. Rafsanjani: "The occurrence of great events during the
early years of the last decade of the 20th Century as well as the
emergence of new conditions in the region have led the Islamic Republic
of Iran to play its key and proper role, in this decisive era, by
renovating the Silk Road as the region's most vital connecting bridge
which would further link the countries of the north with those in the
Orient -- via the Islamic Republic of Iran... ."

Description: Three equal horizontal bands of green (top) white, and red;
the national emblem (a stylized representation of the word Allah) in red
is centered in the white band: ALLAHO AKBAR (God is Great) in white
Arabic script is repeated 11 times along the bottom edge of the green
band and 11 times along the top edge of the red band, totally 22 times
to show 22nd of Bahman, the day of victory of the Islamic Revolution.

Modern Persian is the
official language of Iran. An ancient literary language, Persian was
written in the Pahlavi script before the Arab conquest in the 7th
century. A new form written in the Arabic script developed during the
9th and 10th centuries; this is the basis of the Modern Persian language
used today. As recently as 1950 there were several distinct dialects of
spoken Persian, but due to the spread of public education and broadcast
media, a standard spoken form, with minor regional accents, has evolved.
Important languages of minority groups that have their own publications
and broadcast programs include Azeri (a Turkic language of the Altaic
family), Kurdish, Arabic, and Armenian.

Jafari Shiite of Islam has
been the official religion of Iran since the 16th century. An estimated
93 percent of all Iranians follow Shia Islam, and nearly all are members
of the Jafari group. Since Jafaries believe there are 12 legitimate
successors, or imams, to Prophet Mohammad, they are often called Twelvers (Asna Ashari). The small remaining part of the population
belongs to other Islamic denominations, primarily Sunni Islam. Iran also
has small communities of Armenian and Assyrian Christians, Jews, and
Zoroastrians.

Iran's varied landscape produces several different
climates. On the northern edge of the country, the Caspian coastal
plain, with an average elevation at or below sea level, remains humid
all year. Winter temperatures rarely fall below freezing, and maximum
summer temperatures rarely exceed 29 C (85 F). Annual precipitation
averages 650 mm (26 in) in the eastern part of the plain (Mazandaran
Province) and more than 1,900 mm (75 in) in the western part (Gilan
Province).

At higher elevations to the west, settlements in the Zagros Mountain
basins experience lower temperatures. These areas are subject to severe
winters, with average daily temperatures below freezing, and warm
summers, averaging 25C (77F) in the northwest and 33 C (91F) in
the central and southern Zagros. Annual precipitation, including
snowfall, averages more than 280 mm (11 in) at higher elevations. Most
precipitation falls between October and April.

The central plateau region also experiences regional variations. In
Tehran, located at an elevation of 1,200 m (3,900 ft) on the northern
edge of the plateau, the temperature averages 2 C (36 F) in January
and 29 C (85 F) in July. The city receives an average of 230 mm (9 in)
of precipitation annually. The arid basins of central and eastern Iran
generally receive less than 200 mm (8 in) of precipitation per year. Yazd, for example, averages less than 70 mm (3 in) of precipitation. Its
winters are cool, but temperatures almost never fall below freezing;
summers are very hot, averaging 38 C (100 F) for most of July and
August.

The coastal plains along the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman in
southern Iran have mild winters, with average January temperatures
ranging from 7 C to 18 C (45 F to 64 F) in Khuzestan Province;
average temperatures are even higher in Bandar-e 'Abbas on the Strait of
Hormuz. Summers are very humid and hot, with temperatures exceeding 48
C (119 F) during July in the interior areas. Annual precipitation
ranges from 145 mm to 355 mm (6 to 14 in) in this region.

The population of Iran was
estimated at 80.28 million in 2016. The growth rate began to
decline in the mid-1980s after the government initiated a major
population control program. By 2000 the growth rate had declined to 1
percent per year, with a birth rate of 20 per 1,000 persons and a death
rate of 5 per 1,000. In 2010, 44.9 percent of the population was under
the age
of 15, 53 percent of the
population being between 15 and 64, and only 4 percent 65 or
older.
Tehran, the country's capital and largest city, serves as the main
administrative, commercial, educational, financial, industrial, and
publishing center. Iran's other major cities include Mashhad, a
manufacturing and commercial center in the northeast and the site of the
country's most important religious shrine; Esfahan, a manufacturing
center for central Iran with several architecturally significant public
buildings from the 17th and 18th centuries; Tabriz, the main industrial
and commercial center of the northwest; Shiraz, a manufacturing center
in the south near the ruins of the ancient Persian capital of
Persepolis; and Ahvaz, the principal commercial and manufacturing center
in the southwestern oil region.

Ethnic GroupsIran's population is made up of numerous ethnic groups. Persians
migrated to the region from Central Asia beginning in the 7th century BC
and established the first Persian empire in 550 BC. They are the largest
ethnic group, and include such groups as the Gilaki, who live in Gilan
Province, and the Mazandarani, who live in Mazandaran Province.
Accounting for about 60 percent of the total population, Persians live
in cities throughout the country, as well as in the villages of central
and eastern Iran. Two groups closely related to the Persians both
ethnically and linguistically are the Kurds and the Lurs. The Kurds, who
make up about 7 percent of the population, reside primarily in the
Zagros Mountains near the borders with Iraq and Turkey. The Lurs account
for 2 percent of the population; they inhabit the central Zagros region.
Turkic tribes began migrating into northwestern Iran in the 11th
century, gradually changing the ethnic composition of the region so that
by the late 20th century East Azerbaijan Province was more than 90
percent Turkish. Since the early 1900s, Azeris (a Turkic group) have
been migrating to most large cities in Iran, especially Tehran. Azeris
and other Turkic peoples together account for about 25 percent of Iran's
inhabitants. The remainder of the population comprises small communities
of Arabs, Armenians, Assyrians, Baluchis, Georgians, Pashtuns, and
others.

Islamic Republic of Iran

Map & Geography

Location: 32 00 N. 53 00 E -- Middle East. Iran is situated in
south-western Asia and borders three CIS states (the republics of
Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan), as well as the Caspian Sea to the
north, Turkey and Iraq to the west, the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of
Oman to the south and Pakistan and Afghanistan to the east.

Iran's population, being among the
youngest in the world, fills
Iran's society with adolescent
enthusiasm and joy. The population of Iran which grew exponentially in
recent decades, stands at 80.28 million people (according to 2016
estimates), with approximately 60 percent of the population being under
the age of thirty (2010 estimates). 44.90 million Iranians are dwelling
in urban areas and the rest live in rural regions. The current
population growth rate is 1.2 percent (2016).

Independence: 1 April 1979 (Islamic Republic of Iran proclaimed)
National Holiday: Islamic Republic Day, 1 April (1979)
Constitution:
2-3 December 1979; revised 1989 to expand powers of the presidency and
eliminate the premiership Parliament (Majlis-e Shora-ye-Islami) and the
Council of Guardians of the Constitution. Under the provisions of the
Constitution all legislations must first be approved by the Majlis and
then be ratified by the Council of Guardians. They are signed into laws
by the president. Two more legislative bodies were created in 1988 by
(the late IRI leader) Imam Khomeini. They were the Expediency
Discernment Council (EDC) and the Council of Policy Making for
Reconstruction.
Islamic Consultative Assembly (Majlis-e Shora-ye-Islami): Elections last
held 18 February 2000

Waterways: 904 km; the Arvand River (Shatt al Arab) is usually
navigable by maritime traffic for about 130 km; channel has been dredged
to 3 m and is in use
Pipelines: Crude oil 5,900 km; petroleum products 3,900 km; natural gas
4,550 km

Public primary education
was introduced in Iran after the country's first constitution was
drafted in 1906. Predominantly an urban system, it expanded only
gradually and did not include secondary education until 1925. At the
time of the 1979 Islamic revolution, only 60 percent of Iranian children
of primary school age, and less than 50 percent of those of secondary
school age, were enrolled in public schools; overall adult literacy was
only 48 percent. Since 1979 the government has given a high priority to
education, with programs focusing on adult literacy, new school
construction, and expansion of public colleges and other institutes of
higher education. By 2000 literacy for all Iranians aged 15 and older
had reached 76.9 percent. The literacy rate was higher for males (83.7
percent) than for females (70 percent); the rate was also higher in
cities than in rural areas.

Both the public education system and an expanding private school system
consist of a five-year primary school cycle, a three-year middle school
cycle, and a four-year high school cycle. Education is compulsory for
children between the ages of 6 and 11. All villages now have at least a
primary school, and 89.6 percent of primary school-aged children were
enrolled in school in 1996. Dropout rates begin during middle school and
increase significantly during high school. In 1996 only 74.2 percent of
secondary school-aged children were enrolled in secondary school.
Dropout rates are significantly higher in rural areas, where there is a
shortage of high schools within easy commuting distance.

Iran has more than 30 tuition-free public universities and many other
institutes of higher learning. These include medical universities and
specialized colleges providing instruction in teacher training,
agriculture, and other subjects. In all, only 17 percent of Iranians of
relevant age were enrolled in institutions of higher learning in 1996.
Tehran serves as a center for higher education, with more than 15
universities and numerous colleges and institutes. Other important
universities are located in Hamedan, Esfahan, Shiraz, and Tabriz. In
addition to the public system, Iran has a private system of higher
education that consists of theological colleges and the Islamic Free
University, which has been developing campuses in cities throughout the
country since its establishment in the late 1980s.